She took a slow breath then looked to Hollia with a teary eye.
“I’m sorry for your loss, I really am,” she confessed. Hollia jumped a little as the human held a hand to her head while struggling to contain her emotions. “That pain you felt when you lost her… even you don’t deserve to feel that. I don’t want to feel that with Max. I’m scared, scared that I won’t get to him in time. I can’t… I can’t…”
“You really love your sibling, don’t you?” Hollia wondered.
“He’s everything to me,” Mika whimpered lowering her head with a closed eye. “My sisters… we were all prepared to die in battle, we knew it would happen someday. We were always ready to give our lives, to die if we had to, but… we never prepared to lose him. He was the one person we couldn’t let die, no matter what. I’m not ready to lose him, not him too!”
Mika broke down crying while the monsters watched her silently, all of them exchanging looks with each other before seeing the human holding her hands over her face while sobbing.
“Mika,” Hollia said, pausing for a moment before sighing and ruffling her hair. “I’m certain your little brother is still alright. Your family are well-known monster hunters, even if The Sisterhood was getting closer to your home I’m sure they would be very cautious about approaching it in fear of their lives.”
“Does he know how to fight?” Sasha asked.
“No,” Mika answered shaking her head. “We were going to teach him someday, maybe… but we didn’t yet. We didn’t want him to even try going out there to fight monsters, we just wanted him to stay home where it was safe.”
“There’s weapons in your home though,” Sasha pointed out. “Surely he would have enough sense to know which end of a sword to hold should it be necessary.”
“He knows how to hold a blade,” Mika snapped. “He’s been watching us for years, he’s not stupid. But he’s not strong enough to fight a monster, he’s just a little kid!”
“When we first learn to walk we learn to fight,” Sasha replied looking down. “Every reptile girl learns the art of combat as soon as she is able to stand. I would have imagined monster hunters being the same.”
“My sisters and I learned to kill monsters, we took up that role so our little brother wouldn’t have to.”
“So you planned to always be around to protect him?” Sasha questioned. “Even though you were all prepared to die in battle if need be in order to slay those you hunted? What then, what would happen to your brother when his sisters fell in combat? What was he supposed to do then?”
Mika fell silent as Sasha gave her a sharp look, the human becoming speechless as she didn’t have an answer to that. Sasha slowly shook her head and pointed to the human.
“You kept him from learning to defend himself properly all because you feared him getting hurt in the process. You should be worried, Mika. It sounds like your brother wasn’t raised to survive in this world, he was raised to hide from the world and nothing more.”
Mika showed a stunned expression then slowly looked around to see the other girls watching her with solemn faces. The ant girls turned to the front and remained silent while Hollia slowly shook her head at the hunter.
“That’s what we did, Mika,” Hollia reminded her. “Centaurs tried to stay out of all conflict in Eden, running fast and far away from any danger that came near us. We hid ourselves from enemies behind our neutrality. We had spears aplenty in Ruhelia, but no urge to use them except to scare others away. And look what happened to us because of it.”
Mika faintly breathed out something as words faltered in her throat, her mind trying desperately to argue the claim against the way she raised Max and having a very hard time in doing so.
As the train continued through the underground passageway time became a blur to Mika, the human having receded into her thoughts about how defenseless Max really was. There were plenty of weapons and armor in their home, yet the only thing they ever told him to do was lock the door if danger was coming and hide. Don’t pick up the sword, don’t draw an arrow, don’t grab a shield; just hide. Although at the time it seemed like the best thing to keep their little brother safe now Mika regretted that she never trained Max to fight with a single weapon. Especially since his sisters weren’t around now and hiding or even running may not be an option for him if danger came by.
Hours must have passed by as Mika came back to her senses to see they were finally coming to a stop. The ant girls halted the ride with the brakes while those in back watched the train slowing down inside a larger cave. A few ant girls were standing at the arrival platform with lanterns being lit on the nearby wall, the cavern having a few piles of crates stacked to the side while there were three exit tunnels that branched off in different directions. The cars screeched as they came to a stop before the ant girls hopped out of the wagon and helped with propping up a large board to serve as a ramp. Mika and the girls disembarked and looked around curiously while an ant girl brought a few canteens to the workers standing at the front of the ride wiping sweat off their foreheads. As the drivers eagerly took the drinks to either slake their thirst or just dump water on themselves to cool off the rest of the ant girls were squeaking with each other while one was pointing to something on a map she had.
“This is near my home?” Mika asked looking around.
The ant girls squeaked at her and waved them to follow before rushing off into one of the nearby tunnels.
“I believe we are,” Hollia mused as the girls took off after them. They ran through the corridor which gradually ascended, following the ant girls as they squeaked and quickly raced along the floor with one of them holding a lantern to light the way. They turned left down the passageway then right while always running upward, the group of girls making their way through the winding tunnel before finally coming to a stop before a large boulder. Three of the ant girls pushed against it with all their might, the large rock slowly budging and rolling over while a sharp beam of sunlight came through around it. Mika shielded her eye at first then watched as the ant girls pushed aside the boulder to reveal they were above the surface now, the tunnel entrance being located in a lush thicket. The sky was turning to dusk while the sun was low in the distance behind the trees as the girls stepped out and looked around the area they were now in.
“Nice to breathe fresh air again,” Hollia mentioned as she stretched out her arms.
“Know where we are?” Sasha asked Mika. The hunter was staring at something with a remorseful expression, the other girls then seeing a small clearing nearby with a wooden log suspended by a rope hanging from a tree. A few arrows were lodged into the timber and log while others were lying broken on the forest floor.
“My sister came here,” Mika softly spoke. “For target practice. We’re… close to my home.”
“Your sister was an archer?” Hollia wondered.
“A skilled one,” Mika shakily answered. “Built her own repeater to use in combat. Damn thing… always kept firing when she didn’t want it to. She never could fix it properly… no matter how hard she tried.”
She then broke down crying holding her hands over her face, the other girls glancing to each other before looking over to the training field of the fallen hunter. Mika shouted and shook her head before looking around while frantically wiping her tears away.
“Max!” she cried before running off. The girls raced after her, following the sprinting human through the forest as she called out her brother’s name. She bumbled through foliage and bushes, stumbled over a log, jumped over a small ditch, and ran with all her might to get back to her only family left. Leading the group of monsters behind her she ran through the forest, passing trees and crossing over a patch of dirt near one that appeared to have been dug up recently, before quickly coming to a halt outside the woodland border. The others rushed over to her side and stopped as well, all of them staring in surprise at something while Mika’s expression was of horror.
“No…” she breathed out.
; The cottage that stood before them was barely standing now.
“No,” Mika choked out.
Half of the building appeared to have exploded from within, leaving charred debris spread out all over the field while the remains of the home were burned and in shambles.
“No!”
A cloud of smoke still lingered over the ruined home, blocking some of the sunlight that reached the ravaged home along with the bodies of those who were certainly not human.
“NO!”
A few goblins were seen lying on the ground, their skin scorched while some of them weren’t in one piece anymore. An ogre was collapsed against the side of the creaking building, the monster having a few arrows lodged in its fat belly while its throat was sliced open with blood running down its front. Corpses of catlike monsters were clustered together near the side of the cottage while an arachne was seen dangling from the broken roof by one of its twisted legs which was caught on it.
“Wow,” Hollia simply said.
“Your brother certainly fought back,” Sasha speculated with a raised eyebrow. “Perhaps he isn’t so helpless after all.”
“MAX!” Mika screamed as she ran towards the cottage. The others followed after, all of them racing towards what remained of the building before the human barged through the broken backdoor and rushed inside. She passed the smashed table and chairs in the kitchen, stumbled through the mess that was the storeroom, then came into the sales floor where everything was in disarray or scattered about outside as there was no longer a wall or roof to that part of the building now.
“MAX!” Mika cried out looking around. She dashed upstairs while the other girls made their way through the wreckage into the sales floor, all of them looking around at the armaments and trading supplies that were thrown everywhere along with seeing arrows lodged in the walls and floor in some places.
“I guess I was wrong,” Hollia said walking over to where a gremlin was seen pierced to the wall with a centaur’s spear. She grabbed the weapon and yanked it out, letting the corpse drop with a thump while eyeing the ruined residence with disdain.
“The Sisterhood even had the audacity to attack the home of famous monster hunters.”
“Something is amiss here,” Sasha cautioned. She saw the body of a troll slumped against a pile of debris nearby, the monster having an axe struck right into the head and splitting the stunned expression the fiend had frozen on its face in two.
“Perhaps her brother would try to fight to save himself, but this all seems like more than he could have done.”
The reptile girl walked over and grabbed the axe, giving a hard yank to pull the blade out of the skull before looking at the downed monster carefully.
“This one was struck down in a single blow, the axe went through the skull in a clean strike. A child would have great difficulty landing such a precise attack against a troll.”
“Then what killed it?” Hollia wondered. “What did all this?”
The monsters then turned to see Mika stumbling down the stairs in a panic, the human grabbing the wall for support and looking around with shaky breaths before seeing the others watching her.
“He’s gone,” she whimpered. “He’s not here. He’s not… he’s not…”
“Mika… I’m sorry,” Hollia softly said. “I really am.”
Mika slowly walked forward with uneven steps, her expression being of terror while she stumbled off-balance. Looking around the destroyed cottage she felt her world crumbling apart, a searing pain digging into her heart as she feared the last of her family had been taken from her.
“Max… Max… Max… Max…”
She stopped, slowly looked up, wavered slightly, and then collapsed with a thud as she lost consciousness. An ant girl knelt down and turned her head, seeing the human out cold with tears running down her cheek. Looking to the others she squeaked a few times, the monsters then exchanging curious glances with each other as a quiet wind rolled by.
“What in Eden happened here?” Hollia asked. “There are quite a few dead monsters lying about and I doubt her little brother is responsible for that.”
“I’m not sure,” Sasha replied. She then flung the axe down into the troll’s corpse before looking around the area with a sharp eye.
“The only one who could answer that for us is that missing boy.”
Chapter 15
Buried Secrets
In the world of Eden it was normal for everyone to make mistakes from time to time. Some were quite small, like burning one’s stew for lunch or taking a wrong turn down a beaten path. And there were others which had more dire costs, like trusting someone with malicious intentions or releasing one of the worst evils ever to walk Eden. It may be possible to be forgiven for some of these faults, others wouldn’t be excused so easily if they were too severe. Whether these actions were accidental or intentional the consequences would always have to be faced eventually.
It was just a matter of who was going to face it and what it would be.
*****
All was quiet and dark around Mika, her body floating amidst the vast nothingness while her sorrowful expression hardly did enough to show the pain she was feeling in her heart.
“Max…” she whimpered. “Not you too… no… please, just let me wake up! Let me wake up to see my family again!”
She screamed and thrashed around violently in the void, the furious roar she gave sounding off before vanishing into the dark as she desperately tried to wake herself from the horrible nightmare she had been living.
“Wake up!” she yelled hitting herself over and over again. “This can’t be real! This can’t be happening! There’s no way! Wake up, Mika!”
She felt no pain from the blows, rather the one in her chest grew all the more as she feared there was no avoiding the harsh reality that awaited her.
“No! I can’t lose him too! I lost everyone else, I can’t lose Max too! No! Please don’t let him be taken from me as well! Goddammit! Why? You took my parents, you took my sisters, he was all I had left! He’s the only one I had left to live for!”
Mika screamed while arching back, her anger and pain becoming blinding as she cried and yelled out into the void.
“Mae! Milly! Max! NOOOOO!”
“Calm down.”
Mika jumped and looked around, hearing a voice that seemed to come from everywhere while nothing was seen at all with her.
“Who’s there? Who said that?”
“Mika Harollson,” the woman’s voice curiously spoke. “I’ve seen such hardship in your life as of late, it really is a shame that you’ve had to endure so many horrors in a short time. Though knowing the woman you are and how strong you can be, surely you can muster the resolve to make it through these difficult spells. I have faith that you can.”
“Who are you?” Mika shouted. “What do you want?”
“I wanted to let you know your brother still lives, Mika Harollson,” the woman replied. Mika froze with a gasp as the voice chuckled in the darkness. “He is very much alive, and I’m happy to say he’s in good health too. So there’s no call for you to scream your lungs away.”
“He’s alive? How do you know? Where is he?”
“He’s safe, though quite out of your reach for the time being.”
“WHERE IS HE?” Mika roared. “Where’s my brother?”
“I said calm yourself, there’s no need to shout. I can guide you towards him, I can take you to your dear little brother in due time. But I must insist that you get a hold of yourself first and speak in a normal tone. That’s not asking too much, is it?”
“Who are you?” Mika demanded looking around. “Where are you? Show yourself!”
“I’m close, and yet very far away,” the woman cryptically said. “Listen to me. Your brother is safe for the time being and I can help with reuniting you two. However, I must humbly request that you aid me with something very important first. You may be the only one who can save me as well, Mika Harollson.”
“S
ave you? Save you from what? Who are you?”
“I’m the only one who can help you find your brother. The sooner you assist me the sooner you can see him again. It’s quite a fair trade actually.”
Mika slowly glanced around at the dark void then looked ahead, feeling as though she was being watched by someone right in front of her.
“If you know where my brother is then tell me. Help me get him back and then I’ll help you with your problem.”
“I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way. You’re the only one who can help me, and I’m sorry to say I just can’t risk losing this chance by giving up the only bargaining chip I have. Please, I don’t want to be the bad girl here, I really don’t. I just need a hero to save me or else I’m lost. I’m begging you, please help me.”
“Help you with what?”
“I’m trapped. Locked away and left to die in a horrible place. Even with my magic I’m powerless to escape. Please, I need someone to rescue me. And that someone is you.”
“How do you know where Max is then? If you’re trapped somewhere how could you possibly know where he is?”
“Because I can see him, just like I can see you. I can see everything, Mika Harollson. Everything. I’ve been watching over Eden for far longer than you could imagine. It’s very interesting seeing where you humans have been and where you’re going in life. Very interesting indeed.”
“We humans? You’re a monster, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am. I know it’s strange for a monster to be asking a monster hunter for help but I don’t have a say in the matter. You’re the only one I can turn to.”
“And why is that? Why would you think I’d trust a monster with anything she said, let alone help her with whatever trouble she was having?”
“You don’t trust monsters? That’s odd, I thought you did now. I’ve been watching you spending a lot of time in their company without you killing them. In fact you came back to your home with monsters, having been saved by a monster even. You don’t honestly think we’re all that bad still, do you?”
Chronicles of Eden - Act X Page 52
